State-of-the-art equipment which will offer soldiers a tactical advantage when it comes to countering drones, has been rolled out across the British army.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used extensively by both Russia and Ukraine since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
And in a clear indication of how seriously military chiefs see the strategic threat which they pose, close combat soldiers are being issued with the SmartShooter SMASH Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System.
The Ministry of Defence says the kit will give the dismounted soldier “the ability to achieve a high probability of hit against micro and mini UAVs”.
The SmartShooter is capable of recognising a target, tracking its movements, and maintaining a lock on the target even if it or the user moves.
The so-called Counter-Small Uncrewed Air Systems (C-sUAS) capability will initially be fitted to SA80 A3 assault rifle and can also be fitted onto other in-service individual weapons.
An initial order of 225 SMASH sights will be delivered in accordance with a £4.6million MOD contract to Very High Readiness units across the British Army by the end of this year.
The contract, with Yorkshire-based Viking Arms Ltd will allow further sights to be delivered over the course of the next few years to dismounted close combat operators across the Army, Navy and RAF, based on operational and readiness commitments.
Speaking in June, Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge said: “The importance of uncrewed aerial vehicles on the modern battlefield is undeniable.
“Alongside procuring, developing and deploying this technology in a range of different ways, we must also be proactive in ensuring our Armed Forces can protect against their use by adversaries.
“Adding this capability to our core equipment programme is another example of us procuring the right kit, at the right time for our personnel.”
The SMASH sights were tested last year by the Army’s experimentation battalion, 2 YORKS.
Wing Commander Mark Bowden, Programmes Directorate, Counter-UAS SO1, said: “We are very pleased to announce the arrival of the first dismounted C-sUAS equipment into the core equipment programme.
“SMASH is a proven capability already in service with our allies and partners. As we have seen in Ukraine and other operational areas the UAS threat is growing significantly.
“SMASH offers significant enhancement to the close combat operator across all three Services, delivering a tactical edge to the dismounted soldier in the C-sUAS battle.”
“SMASH uses image processing to automatically acquire a target from the sight’s field-of-view and then displays a box around the target in the shooter’s reflex sight.
“The capability will only fire once the sight is aligned to hit the target.
Viking Arms Managing Director, Sam MacArthur, said: “We are tremendously proud to have been selected to supply the UK MOD’s C-sUAS Smart Weapon Sight capability.
“The need for C-sUAS capability is very evident and we feel the SMASH solution is truly game changing.
“We are honoured to be supporting our British Armed Forces with technology that will provide significant battlefield advantages, whilst the contract builds on our continued success as a trusted supplier within the UK Defence Sector.”
